Alaska’s cold winters can have a negative impact on the health and egg-laying capacity of your flock, so it is important to ensure your chickens are warm and comfortable all winter long. Below are a few tips from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service. Read the full article about how to keep laying hens productive during the winter months:

As the State Veterinarian in the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), I am considered the “state animal health official” for Alaska, which stewards certain statutory powers to safeguard the health of the state’s animal resources and food produced from these resources. The statutory authority covers animal movement, quarantine, disease surveillance, permitting intrastate movement and imports, disease investigations, and emergency response. I also act as a central point of contact for my peers at the federal agencies (USDA, USFWS, USGS, NPS, NOAA) and for animal health officials in other states and countries. In addition to the Office of the State Veterinarian (OSV), several veterinary professionals in other state government agencies work closely with my office and with each other to ensure the health and well-being of animals and the public, as well as thriving wildlife populations and a robust agricultural industry.

My colleagues in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Department of Health and Social Services, and the Department of Natural Resources, each have specialties and areas of expertise that work toward our shared goals of a safe, healthy, and prosperous Alaska. In this newsletter, I explain in detail how this veterinary network works in Alaska, and examples of how each agency contributes towards our shared mission.

The last few months have been busy at Alaska’s Office of the State Veterinarian (OSV)!

Our staff spent much of the last month on the road, visiting fairs across the state doing livestock
checks, poultry testing, and public outreach. You might have seen us at the Southeast Alaska
State Fair (Haines), Tanana Valley State Fair (Fairbanks), Kenai Peninsula Fair (Ninilchik), Deltana
State Fair (Delta Junction), Kodiak Rodeo and State Fair (Kodiak), or the Alaska State Fair
(Palmer).

In a crowded, busy place such as a state fair, it is important that all members of the community
work together to ensure a safe and disease-free environment for everyone. This is why Dr. Coburn
and I visit each fair and work with a team of volunteer veterinarians to inspect livestock entries. It is
our job to ensure that all animals are free of diseases and parasites that could potentially infect
other animals or humans. We also educate 4-H participants about the importance of biosecurity
and how to prevent illness in their livestock as well the transmission of zoonotic diseases to their
human family members.

Two domestic cats infected with tularemia died recently in the North Pole area and reports of sick snowshoe hares around Fairbanks and in the Matanuska Valley suggest outbreaks may be on the increase in these regions. Transmission of the disease to humans is rare and can be avoided by taking safety precautions; knowing how to spot tularemia symptoms in pets is key to early detection and treatment.

Tularemia is an infection caused by the Francisella tularensis bacteria. It most often kills hares but can also cause serious illness in people, dogs, and cats. While the disease can be fatal if untreated, it is easily cured if diagnosed quickly and antibiotics prescribed. Common signs in people and pets include lethargy, sudden lack of appetite, high fever and swollen lymph nodes.

The disease is spread by ticks, and hares are the primary host. The tick species known to carry the bacteria prefer to live on hares, but will occasionally bite dogs, cats, or people. Although tick bites are one possible cause, pets most often get tularemia from mouthing or catching a sick hare. People can become infected by handling hares or from infected pets' saliva, even before the pet exhibits signs of illness. Tularemia is most often diagnosed in hares and pets between Memorial Day and Labor Day because it is spread by ticks which are active during the summer.

Matanuska-Susitna Borough Animal Care is looking for a 17-foot albino Burmese python that weighs 100 pounds in a neighborhood in Meadow Lakes. The owner reported it missing recently near W. Mallard Lane.

Animal Care Director Kirsten Vesel asks residents in the area to bring in small pets and be vigilant of your yard right now. Alaska's cold temperatures may weaken the snake or compel it to seek a warm place, she said.

The snake is not prone to attacking adult humans unless provoked. The snake could potentially pose a threat to pets and young children.